Ohio State makes offers to the No. 3 WR in 2018

We’re not even 48 hours removed from the last faxed in letter of intent signed by Ohio State recruits in the 2017 class, and we’re already moving on to 2018 class and beyond. The 2017 class will go down in history, but if Urban Meyer has anything to say about it, he may just try and outdo himself in 2018.

Cali stud receiver catches OSU offer

Well, it didn’t last long, but as soon as 2017 was completed, the Buckeye football staff dished out a new offer to a top California receiver prospect. Announcing via his Twitter account, Amon-Ra St. Brown (Anaheim, CA / Mater Dei) is the latest to grab a prestigious OSU offer.

Amon-Ra, a 6-foot-1, 187-pound receiver is currently the No. 3 receiver in the country and the third best prospect overall in California for the 2018 class. With 20 offers so far from the likes of Alabama, Ole Miss, Notre Dame and USC, it’s easy to see why the Buckeyes wanted to get into the mix for this Cali product.

The 247sports crystal ball has the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame running away with this one, but with Ohio State and Urban Meyer in the mix, anything is possible. Amon-Ra only has to look at the way they’re sending receivers to the NFL in the last two drafts to see just how well Ohio State develops his position. While Notre Dame may be the leader in the early going, the Buckeyes are now a player in this game.

Smith: the real deal

With 2017 now signed, sealed and delivered, 2018 kids are now at the highest priority. Yesterday, in Meyer’s signing day press conference, he alluded to the fact that 50 percent of his classes need to be in-state Ohio recruits. With 2017 being an easy exception due to the players involved, 2018 looks to get back to the roots of Ohio State football.

One prospect that will be a major priority for the Buckeyes in 2018 is no new name to recruiting followers, as L’Christian “Blue” Smith (Dayton, OH / Wayne) makes the headlines more often than not. The Huber Heights Wayne two-sport star recently chose football as his college sport of choice, but not longer after reconsidered and put basketball back in the picture for his future plans. What remains to be seen is which one he’ll choose. It may even be both. In fact, Ohio State has offered Blue in both basketball and football—as well as other notable Big Ten programs such as Iowa.

While football may be the more popular choice, Meyer and Ohio State certainly aren’t wasting any time with the four-star receiver due to his talent, size and being from one of the top prep programs within Ohio.

Yesterday, the accolades for the 6-foot-6, 205-pound wide-out continued as he announced via his Twitter account that he received an invite to Under Armour’s All-America regional football camp that hosts the top prospects in their respective region. Sure to put on a show, Blue has been a receiver the Buckeyes have already shown ample interest in, and now that the 2018 class is the next class up, Blue will only be seeing more of the Buckeyes.

Another Smith, another invite

When Ohio State landed their Cleveland Heights four-star receiver Jaylen Harris, they knew of another Heights football player that was seriously interested in the Buckeyes. Harris’ teammate, Tyreke Smith, isn't a fairly new name to Buckeye fans either as he was a recent recipient of an Ohio State offer.

The four-star defensive end was told by the Buckeyes football staff to be patient and that eventually with camping at Ohio State and continued development, he would be a Buckeye. Fast forward after rival Michigan offered Smith, and the Buckeyes followed suit in hopes to keep the best Ohio talent in state at the next level.

Currently, Smith checks in as a 6-foot-3, 260-pound four-star DE and grades out as the sixth best at his position and the seventh best prospect overall in the 2018 Ohio recruiting class, according to 247sports. With over twenty scholarship offers from the likes of Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Texas, Ohio State certainly wants to keep this recruitment closer than others.

Yesterday, Tyreke was another Ohio prospect in the 2018 class to receive the Under Armour All-America regional camp invite as one of Ohio’s best. Smith has said he has no set decision in mind and that he’d like to take all five of his official visits before making his college plans final. However, the crystal ball (and most) would like to believe that come signing day 2018, Smith will be the next Cleveland native to head down I-70 and suit up for the home state Buckeyes. Time will tell, but for an in-state prospect, it’s never too early to wonder.